Writer Mihovil Pavlek Miškina and Politics

Podravina je dala velik prilog kulturnoj baštini Hrvatske kroz naivno slikarstvo, no ovaj nemiran kraj na granici dravske ravnice dao je i mnogo izvanredno talentiranih književnika. Seljački književnik Mihovil Pavlek Miškina (Đelekovec, 1887. - Jasenovac, 1942.) stoji na samom vrhu te književnosti. Bio je samouk i uložio je golem trud da izgradi sebe i spozna svijet oko sebe pa je svoje percepcije prirodnog svijeta, a onda i društva zapisao te se za poboljšanje tog svijeta borio mirnim, nenasilnim putem usprkos svojoj buntovnoj prirodi. Njegov opus nije velik, ali je u svojim djelima rekao sve što je trebalo reći o seljačkom životu u koprivničkoj i ludbreškoj Podravini u prvoj polovici 20. stoljeća. Tražio je da se svijet mijenja radom i poštenjem te da se upravo tim načinom izgradi miran i napredan dom za seljaka. Njegova književna djela našla su izraz u političkoj djelatnosti i moramo ih razmatrati kao cjelinu zajedno, a u sklopu ekonomskih, socijalnih, ali i političkih prilika u Podravini u međuratnom razdoblju.Podravina contributed a lot to Croatia’s cultural heritage, giving birth to Naïve painting. However, these turbulent regions on the edge of Drava lowlands also contributed with a number of very talented writers. Among them, a peasant-writer Mihovil Pavlek Miškina (Đelekovec, 1887 - Jasenovac, 1942) is on top of this literature. A self-taught by education, he invested a great effort in building himself and seeing the world around him. His perceptions of nature and society, written down as a recipe for better world, served as a peaceful, non-violent means of struggle, despite his rebellious nature. His opus is modest, but his works told all that was needed to say on farm life and peasants of Koprivnica’s and Ludbreg’s Podravina in the first half of the 20th century. He demanded that the world be improved through hard work and honesty, that this should be a pathway to serene, yet advanced life for local peasants. His literary works found a way into political life and should be considered as such whole, together within the economic, social and political situation of Podravina in between two world wars